Le Pen's trial begins, which could definitively rule her out of the presidential race

ParisFrench far-right leader Marine Le Pen returns to the dock this Tuesday in a trial that will shape her political future. Le Pen was sentenced in March 2025 to four years in prison – only two of which were served –, five years of disqualification and a fine of 100,000 euros for misappropriation of European Parliament funds in the case of fraud in parliamentary assistant contracts. Unlike the prison sentence, the court of first instance ruled for the immediate application of the disqualification, even though the sentence was not yet final. De factoThe leader of the National Rally (RN) was barred from the 2027 presidential race. Le Pen appealed the sentence, and the appeal hearing, which will last a month, begins this Tuesday. It represents her last chance to run for president.

"I hope the court will listen to me and that I can convince them of my innocence," the 57-year-old defendant declared on Monday. The verdict, which will not be delivered until the summer, could definitively end Marine Le Pen's hopes of running in the presidential elections to be held next spring. She could only be a candidate if she is acquitted, if the future sentence convicts her but reduces the disqualification period to two years, or if the disqualification is not immediately applicable. A confirmation of the initial sentence would mean the end of her political career. This Tuesday, unlike the first trial, the populist leader entered the courtroom looking very serious and made no statements to reporters.

Meanwhile, the populist leader retains her seat in the National Assembly, but once legislative elections are called, she will also be unable to run if the appeals court upholds her disqualification. What seems more unlikely is that Le Pen will end up in prison. She could probably serve the two years she would have to serve in jail—if the court were to ratify the sentence—substituting them with court-ordered monitoring and an electronic ankle bracelet.

Relief of Le Pen

National Rally (RN) has long been preparing for Le Pen's replacement should her disqualification be confirmed. The leader appears at all political events alongside her protégé, Jordan Bardella, who holds the party presidency and is emerging as the RN's presidential candidate. Despite his youth—he is 30 years old—his limited education, and his personality—he is far less charismatic than she is—he seems to have won the electorate's trust, especially among young people: according to polls, whether the candidate is him or Marine Le Pen, the far right would win in the first round. Thus, the leader's disqualification would be a one-off event, but it would not jeopardize National Rally's electoral prospects. In some polls, Bardella even surpasses Le Pen in voting intentions. "It would be deeply troubling for democracy if the justice system were to deprive the French people of a presidential candidate who has already qualified twice for the second round and is currently considered the frontrunner in the polls," declared Jordan Bardella. The initial ruling convicted the far-right party and 24 of its members for hiring staff as European Parliament assistants between 2009 and 2014—with salaries paid by the European Parliament—who actually worked for the party. Le Pen, for example, hired her bodyguards as parliamentary assistants, as well as the secretary and chief of staff of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front (now known as the National Rally).

European Parliament regulations clearly state that assistants must work on tasks related to the European Parliament, therefore these contracts are considered fraudulent and constitute misappropriation of public funds. The misappropriated money totals more than 3 million euros. Only the party and 12 of those convicted appealed the sentence and are being retried starting today.

"Political" decision

Le Pen called the initial verdict a "political decision" and always maintained that the trial was a maneuver to remove her from the presidential race. During the trial, the defense strategy focused on arguing that the contracts were legal. Now, in the retrial, that could change: Le Pen is keeping her lead lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, but has hired a new attorney, Sandra Chirac-Kollarik, who will also participate in her defense during this trial.